"Owners invited Uchino to take over their sushi program in February, and he used the opportunity to expand sushi beyond the bar: he’s pressed bartenders to experiment with sake and soju cocktails and has trained waitstaff to connect more deeply with diners by telling the stories behind each course. Beyond showing where cuts come from at the counter, he has servers explain provenance — “from where the fish is from in Japan” — and the legends of how certain dishes were first served to monarchs hundreds of years ago, turning the greater dining room into an educational extension of the omakase experience." - Emily Venezky